An Inspiring Conversation

Several months ago in our entrepreneurship class we studied a case study on WIPHOLD, a South African investment group dedicated to the economic empowerment of black women. Today my group met with two of the founders of WIPHOLD to support our current project in South Africa. We are working with a local entrepreneur that is building a company similarly dedicated to empowering black women; we wanted to better understand WIPHOLD’s vision and some of the challenges they faced when it was first starting out, fifteen years ago, at the end of apartheid.

The afternoon was inspiring; both for our project and on a personal level. Louisa Mojela and Gloria Serobe explained their strategy empowering women on multiple levels. The company invests in large companies and participates on the board, bringing female perspective to the boardroom. They also educate and enable underprivileged women to grow their money through investment. Their fund granted a trust in which thousands of rural women in South Africa had a small ownership stake; WIPHOLD manages a very sophisticated investment portfolio and the beneficiaries of the trust can choose whether they would like continue to invest or withdrawal a portion for personal need.

Louisa and Gloria told us about the challenges that they faced establishing their business; women that they wanted to empower were located in hard-to-reach rural areas, spoke many different languages, and were often skeptical about the investment model that WIPOLD was proposing. As WIPOLD grew in size and gained recognition, they had to manage the backlash from the male-dominated business community in South Africa. They continue to overcome these challenges; their passion and commitment to women empowerment was clearly demonstrated through the conversation. It was amazing to have the opportunity to learn from two women that had made such a great impact in the country.

Kristin